2025 Life Logs, Day 358: Happy Christmas Eve
Date: Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Weather: Sunny in Falmouth, Snow in Maine; High Temp 33, Low 16 degrees F
Location: At Home on Dover Road in Boothbay, Maine
Today I traveled from sunny Falmouth to sunny Boston and drove through a snow storm to Portsmouth, New Hampshire before traveling on to Boothbay, Maine. I had an early lunch with my friend Leslie in Portsmouth before dashing northward in the snow. But minutes later, I drove over the border into Maine where the storm had passed and the roads were almost dry. The views of a winter wonderland were spectacular and got even more beautiful the closer I got to the farm in Boothbay.
I arrived safely but ran into a snag. Heading up the hill to Jed’s mother’s home, I hit a sheet of ice and the car started sliding backwards. I braked, stopped before going completely off the road, and just sat there for a moment. Then I saw Heather come out of the house. I could tell she saw my predicament, so I sat patiently while she rounded up Sam, Jonah, Ollie, and Jed’s brother Toby. They decided that Ollie, the youngest and lightest in weight, was the best bet for driving while they pushed. He has driven so many vehicles on Xbox, learning all the tricks of driving in difficult situations, that we thought he could do it. It took a few tries and the use of roofing shingles under the front tires to finally reach the top of the hill. But they got my little Honda Fit into the parking area in front of the house. Way to go, driver Ollie and pushing crew.
The sun was setting as we were unloading the car full of Christmas presents. It was gorgeous, so I stopped to get a photo of the farmhouse below. That photo captures the beauty of Maine perfectly.
It truly looks like a winter wonderland here. But I soon learned that the snowstorm had knocked out power at 3 am in the morning and it is still not back on as I write this log. We have a few lights by using a generator, a small wood stove in the living room for heat and that we are using to melt pots of snow for water and that served as a cookstove to heat up the ham for dinner. No electricity makes things a bit challenging and overnight will be chilly as there is no heat downstairs where all of the bedrooms are located. But we managed to have a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with pre-dinner Christmas songs played on the antique crank-styled victrola. Happy Christmas Eve to all! 
